


Rite of Passage

by FilmFreak94



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2015-11-18
Packaged: 2018-05-02 06:01:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5237042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FilmFreak94/pseuds/FilmFreak94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young girl is eager to start her journey as a Pokémon Master. She's about five seconds away from running out her front door Poké Ball in hand were it not for her grandmother reeling her excitement in a bit. Perhaps a bit unsuccessfully so.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rite of Passage

**Author's Note:**

> This one was also a birthday gift for a friend who's into the Pokémanz (every other thing I'm gonna post here is just gonna be old birthday fanfics, my God). I'm definitely nowhere near as knowledgeable about Pokémon as her or my other friend who helped get my facts straight for this story. I've played pretty far into Red but I stopped and haven't picked it back up again because that's what I do for every RPG I play, I don't know what it is.
> 
> I've always been a fan of this kind of idea though, kids going off to collect Pokémon like it's a rite of passage (roll credits) and their parents or guardians or whoever are totally supportive of it. So I wanted to put my own spin on it. I kind of wish I knew more about Pokémon so I could make this a continuing thing because there's a lot you could do with a premise like this and I like the characters (a bit conceited considering I came up with them but whatever) but alas, I got into Pokémon too late in my life and I'm still a newbie. Oh well, this'll have to do.

It wasn’t every day a child went off to become a Pokémon Trainer. At least that was what expectant parents, family members, friends of the family, and Poké Ball salesman all said when it came about that time. In truth it seemed like more and more children were eager to jump right out their windows at the time of their tenth birthday until it seemed like there would be no children left in any of the smaller towns of the Kanto Region by the first week of April’s end.

Technically speaking there was no set age when children could go out and start their seemingly endless collection of Pokémon, and of course it was an entirely voluntary endeavor. There were some families that pushed their children to go out and get as many of those little monsters as they could and some that were perhaps too protective and didn’t let them go farther than down the street looking for stray Rattata. But the majority of children always seemed to pick the “catch ‘em all” option and leave home for a good many weeks, venturing, dueling, and collecting to their heart’s content. Many came back with all eight gym badges to boast, while very few came back beating some of the more Elite Masters or Pokémon, but it was a transformative experience for every young child who chose to take that journey. A sort of crossroads between childhood and maturity. And Candice Sapphire was more than ready to cross that threshold.

“I’m gonna find a Pikachu first!” She said as she bounced uncontrollably in her seat. Her grandmother laughed softly as she finished preparing tea.

“Always popular that Pikachu.” She placed the kettle in the center of the table and sat opposite her eager granddaughter after pouring her a tiny glass. “You probably won’t find them in that many areas, they aren’t as abundant as popularity would have you believe.”

“So I’ll just ask for him to be my starter!” She coughed as she nearly choked on her tea. She was moving too fast for everything and everything was much too slow for her.

“Not often how it’s done.” Her grandmother took a small sip of her own glass, setting it back down on the saucer gently. “Everyone has to pick from a pre-selected bunch. Just the way it goes.”

“Ash didn’t have to!” Her grandmother laughed again.

“If you’re referring to that show,” she said in regard to a popular TV show where the main character refused to age over fifteen years, “it’s not always the best representation of how things go in real life training.”

“So you can’t choose another starter at all?” Her grandmother shook her head.

“Just the three.” Candice gave her tea a pout. She’d heard all the strengths and weaknesses of all three Kanto starters but she would much prefer if you could choose your own starter from the 700 types of Pokémon currently known. Surely the Poké Laboratory would have more than enough types in the years it had been around. What was it again, thirty now? More than enough time to get up to date, but if she were really stuck with just the three…

“What did you start out with?” She asked her grandmother who scrunched her face as she tried to remember.

“Venusaur, no Bulbasaur, that was its original name.” This surprised Candice.

“I thought most people went with Charizard as a starter.”

“Charmander,” Her grandmother corrected, “He’s fine enough but I’ve never been one to go for the obvious choice.” Candice considered this.

“Which one do you think I should choose?”

“I can’t answer that,” she said as she added another lump of sugar to her cup. “Only you can decide who your starter will be.”

“But I can’t deciiiiide!” Candice moaned. “They’re all so cool!”

“You’ve read up on their evolutions haven’t you?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, “they’re all pretty decent when they’ve evolved I guess, but there’s other Grass, Water and Fire Pokémon that are way stronger.”

“Starters aren’t necessarily supposed to be the strongest or the best,” her grandmother said, “they’re meant to act as your companions as you get adjusted to training. You give them a proper name if you wish, form a bond, learn how to properly care for them, their strengths and weaknesses against other ‘mon-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know all that,” she interrupted, “I just wish one was stronger than the other two so it’d be easier.”

“Oh but what’s the fun in relying on strength all the time?” Her grandmother, with some difficulty, stood up and went to open the window. The evening air was cool and refreshing, with the promise of a new day just on the horizon. “You won’t get very far if you rely on just one Pokémon or one type of Pokémon over others.”

“And I’m gonna be a Master!” She beamed as her grandmother smiled back.

“That you are.” She faced more difficulty sitting back down, feeling the bones in her knees crack as she eventually settled back in.

“Did you ever become a Master, Grandma?” She had asked this question more times than she could count, but she could hardly blame her forgetfulness tonight.

“In all honesty, I never really cared too much about that.” She could hear a Pidgeot calling out somewhere in the field, thinking on the chances that it might be the first ‘mon Candice would come across. “I was mostly caught up in the collection. I gathered as many Pokémon as I could find and trained them as best as I could, but beating Gym Leaders, taking on the Elite Four, it was never a high priority for me.” Memories flew into her mind as she thought back on her old team. She had only found around forty-seven out of the 150 known Pokémon when she was young, and of course that number seemed to be skyrocketing with each year. She had fond memories with each ‘mon she had trained, of each one she had seen evolve into something greater and more beautiful in ways she didn’t think were possible, and to this day they were all kept safe and sound in the Poké Storage System where they could be cared for by more professional hands than hers. She would go back and visit them on occasion, but every time she did she could never get the image of her going back in the field with them. Taking on one last adventure across the Kanto Region before her time was up. She chuckled at her wishful thinking. She was too old for that kind of journey now. It was best to leave the training and discoveries of new species to the kids.

“But you did get some badges right?”

“Oh sure, one or two.”

“Those Gym Leaders are tough, huh?”

“They certainly know their stuff,” she said honestly, “but more often than not they have the same weakness I warned you about; Over-reliance on one type of ‘mon.”

“So I can beat ‘em?!” She almost started bouncing again.

“Maybe. But not without a lot of training. You’ll have to collect all sorts of Pokémon if you want to keep your team varied.”

“Have you been to the other Regions Grandma?” Candice asked.

“Not for collecting,” she answered, “but I have been on vacation to Johto and Sinnoh, they’re both lovely.”

“And they’ve got even more Pokémon than over here right?!”

“I can’t keep track of how many Pokémon belong in whichever area anymore.” Her grandmother frowned. They all seemed to migrate between Regions nowadays.

“I’m gonna go to all the Regions!” Candice said with a puff in her chest.

“Not alone you’re not.” Her grandmother shook her finger.

“I know, I know, I have to wait another year before we head to another Region.” Her grandmother nodded. She agreed with each year after her tenth birthday to take her on vacation across the other Regions for the summer, but only if Candice upheld her end of the deal by getting good grades in school and not letting her obsession of becoming a fully-fledged Pokémon Master get in the way of everyday life. She had seen more than a few of her friends and countless unknowns drain away all their energy and nearly waste away entirely in pursuit of Mastery, and it was not a route she wanted to see her granddaughter go down. But if she were really dedicated it wouldn’t be out of the question to expect her to own almost every Pokémon in the Pokédex by the time she was sixteen. And based on her enthusiasm now that possibility seemed more and more likely.

“So,” her grandmother said as the last light of the sun seemed to leave the town, “what’s one type of Legendary Pokémon you really want to get?”

“White Kyurem!” Her grandmother furrowed her brow and Candice realized she had meant in Kanto. “Zapdos.” She amended.

“Ah, yes,” her grandmother nodded, “quite a sight that one.”

“You’ve seen one?!” Candice pounded her fists on the table and shot up from her chair.

“Once, during a thunderstorm while I was on the road. I think it was a Zapdos anyway, it might have been a trick of the light or the rain or something…” Her voice trailed off as she realized there was no more tea in the kettle.

“I’d love to ride one of those.” Candice’s voice was wistful as her grandmother muttered to herself, feeling more bones crackling as she stood to put the kettle in the sink.

“Might be dangerous,” she said, “might shock you right off.”

“Not if I trained it right.” Candice said defiantly. “And if I taught it Fly!”

“Doesn’t it already know how to fly?” She smirked.

“Grandma, you know what I mean!” They laughed. Sharing more stories and stats on certain Pokémon, “Did you know Flareon is the only Fire-type that can’t learn Solar Beam,” “I did not,” (she did), and listening to all the plans Candice had and where her route would take her.

“I’m gonna try and get a ticket for the S.S. Anne.”

“Oh of course,” her grandmother shook her head, “and be sure to check out the trashcans if you do manage to get on.” Candice gave an affirmative nod.

“I don’t really know about Lavender Town.” She said with uncertainty.

“Oh don’t you believe the rumors about Lavender Town.” Her grandmother said. “It may have a more foreboding air than most other towns but it’s no different than where we live.”

“But I heard the tower is haunted!” Candice probably meant to come off as nervous but the spark in her eyes seemed to glimmer brighter when she said this.

“Only by the regular Ghost-type Pokémon. You have nothing to worry about.” Candice seemed almost disappointed at this.

“Not even a Marowak ghost?”

“Long since exorcised.” Candice’s heart sank further. Some people had all the fun.

Candice’s mind ran away with her all throughout the night. When the clock struck nine and it was time to get ready for bed she thought of Snorlax snoozing on the road somewhere, blocking everyone’s path with its girth. As her grandmother drew a bath she thought of the Magikarp in the sea and the epic Gyarados that could totally decimate the battlefield. When her grandmother dried her off her thoughts raced to the mysterious and wonderful Mew, and the trick one of her friends had told her about to getting it that she couldn’t remember for the life of her. Something about a truck…

Candice lay in the sheets of her bed, kicking her feet as her grandmother tucked her in. Something else was on her mind but she wasn’t sure how to say it.

“Rowan’s getting her starter tomorrow too.”

“Is she now?” Her grandmother pulled the sheet up to Candice’s neck.

“She said she’s gonna be a Master before I get the chance.” A smile formed on the side of her grandmother’s lips.

“Are you intimidated?”

“Kind of,” she said truthfully, “I mean she’s got way more experience with Pokémon than I do.” It was true Rowan’s family had stockpiled a number of Pokémon over the years between her parents and other family members, making Rowan an already formidable Trainer at the age of ten.

“She may have more experience than you right now,” her grandmother said as she handed Candice her Jigglypuff plush, “but if you ask me nothing beats actual field experience. You can train in a gym all you like but wild Pokémon are way too unpredictable even for most Masters.”

“You think so?” Her grandmother brushed a bit of Candice’s hair from her eyes.

“I know so.” Her grandmother knew all too well that for every up and coming Trainer, there was always a seemingly better rival just waiting to rub their noses in any success they had. Her own rival had been a particularly snobby little boy whose father happened to have an in with the town’s resident Pokémon specialist and always took delight in challenging her and boasting whatever badges he’d just collected. This same snob had been her best friend and eventual husband of thirty-nine years up to his passing so there was no real malice behind any rivalry. None that she could see anyways.

She kissed Candice’s forehead as she ran her fingers through her hair.

“Good night Candice.” She stood and went for the door, her hand lingering on the switch before shutting it off. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Candice said and the lights went off, only the dim glow of her Electrode nightlight in the corner illuminating the room. She was nervous, unashamedly, but excited even more so. She thought of all the different cities, the different Pokémon, the Legendary ‘mons, the Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, the Champion, and beyond that all the possibilities that lie in the other Regions. She thought of her future and all the Pokémon she could and _would_ collect. The vast amount of types and evolutions that danced in her mind scaring away all thoughts of even the notion of falling asleep.

Sleep did find her, eventually, only when she had exhausted herself with all her anticipation. She still thought of the 720 known Pokémon that lay waiting for her, all the towns and places that she would explore, and above all which Pokémon she would choose as her starter. But they only served to drift her further to repose. Tomorrow was a big day. It wasn’t every day a child went off to become a Pokémon Master.


End file.
